In an NBA game that ended today, the Clippers lost to the Thunder 107-129, the process of ups and downs, in fact, the Clippers only fell behind by 2 points in the first quarter, and the difference in the second quarter was still not open, after Harden was replaced in the third quarter, the Thunder instantly opened the point difference, and the Clippers launched a counterattack many times in the final quarter, Harden threw two three-pointers, but unfortunately he was still unable to return to the sky, and the Clippers could only accept the fate of losing. In terms of statistics, Leonard had 20 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 turnovers, Harden had 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 turnovers, George had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, Powell had 19 points, 2 rebounds and 3 turnovers, Wei Shao had 2 points and 5 assists, and Zubac had 13 points and 12 rebounds.
According to statistics, in the last 5 games, the Clippers have achieved 2 wins and 3 losses, including losing to the Pelicans, Timberwolves and Thunder, three strong teams in the West, the problem of the Clippers is actually very obvious, that is, the interior strength is too poor, and the team with a strong center will fall into a hard battle, such as the Timberwolves, the Clippers give us the feeling that they really can't beat, the Pelicans are also very strong inside, and the Clippers can't win, so in the playoffs, the interior is destined to become the fatal shortcoming of the Clippers. In addition, the Clippers' last two key card battles, that is, against the Timberwolves and the Thunder, both collapsed in the third quarter and ended up losing by more than 20 points, so when facing the top teams in the West, the Clippers' winning rate is really not high.
With a 0-2 record against the Timberwolves, a 1-2 record against the Pelicans, and a 1-2 record against the Thunder, the Clippers are worrying about their performance against tough opponents. Of course, you have to find a reason for losing, looking at this game, the Clippers mainly have four points that they did not do well, the first is poor defense, Alexander's singles ability is already very strong, the Clippers have always had no way to take him, Alexander can shoot suddenly, the key Clippers don't dare to overpack him, because the Thunder score too many points, take the fourth quarter as an example, when the Clippers hit Alexander in part of the round, Jalen Williams suddenly broke out, he bombarded 12 points in the fourth quarter, making the Clippers pay a heavy price, And in the previous time, Holmgren and Keady also often stepped forward to make meritorious contributions.
It must be admitted that Alexander + Jalen Williams + Holmgren + Keady, the new version of the Thunder is really enviable, not to mention that there is a three-point Dort, maybe the Thunder will not be able to succeed this season, but what about another 2-3 seasons? I can't imagine. The second reason for the loss, there was a key turning point in the third quarter, after Harden was replaced, the Clippers' offense came to a standstill, and the Thunder played a wave, and the Clippers were also in a state of losing points when Harden was on the court, but the Clippers lost faster after Harden got off the court, and it really didn't work without a beard, maybe Tyronn Lue wanted Harden to rest more, and the beard has been in full attendance so far this season, in fact, from another point of view, Harden should play more in a tough battle, and really want him to rest, Tyronn Lue should take measures to rest in rotation, rather than reducing playing time.
For example, playing some weak teams, Harden can take a break. The third reason for the loss, George and Wei Shao played abnormally, the former was 6 in 16, and the latter was 1 in 9 so irony that we couldn't see it, George's problem is clear to us, it can be called unpredictable, and often can't find the feel of the whole court, even if Harden tries hard to feed the cake, George still can't convert it into a score, in this case, Harden should really shoot more, can't just rely on Leonard, when George has no feeling, Harden needs to be full of firepower. In the first half of the season, the Clippers' rotation method was Harden partnering Leonard, and Wei Shao partnering George, which worked quite well, but in recent games, we found that Wei Shao often partnered with Leonard, which led to the result that both of them played badly, Harden partnered with George, and George was unstable, wasting Harden's passing.
Harden was interviewed after the game, and Harden was a little frustrated when he talked about the loss, he said: "It's frustrating to lose, especially to lose to 2nd in the West, it's my responsibility to lose, my job is to make the game easier, make it easier for everybody, I didn't score too many points in this game, I want to attract the defense by breaking through and creating opportunities for my teammates." These words are very easy to understand, Harden did not blame his teammates and Tyronn Lue's tactics, but took the responsibility for the loss on himself, it can be seen that Harden is still quite responsible, but frankly speaking, the Clippers lost, Harden really does not need to take too much responsibility, according to statistics, Harden only played the first 4 and a half minutes in the third quarter, and then Lu took a timeout and replaced Harden with Wei Shao, and the Thunder was the momentum during this time.
Leonard was also interviewed about the team always losing card battles, Jr. said: "We want to make sure that the team is in the top six, whether we are in the first place or the sixth place, we have to get better, that's our goal, losing some games made us realize that there are a lot of good teams in the West and we have to try to do our best every day otherwise we can't win, but we will do better and it is good for us to find the problem." Leonard's meaning is very easy to understand, Xiaoka woke up like a dream, he thinks that the Clippers can't dominate the West, there are too many strong enemies, and Leonard is still full of confidence in the Clippers, he said that the Clippers still have room for improvement, or as mentioned earlier, since the internal problem cannot be solved, then the key is on George and Wei Shao, and the two need to ** as soon as possible.